Schapelle's Secret Hook-Up... In Vietnam

- Phillip Koch

Even with her famous face disguised behind huge reflector sunglasses, a bikini-clad Schapelle Corby couldn’t hide her joy at being reunited with Ben Panangian, the handsome surfer she credits with helping her survive nine years in Kerobokan jail.

Ben, 37, flew from Bali to Singapore, where he met up with Schapelle – the woman he’s been pining for ever since she was deported from Indonesia in May last year. The pair then enjoyed a romantic fortnight at a beachfront resort in Vietnam.

“I didn’t recognise her immediately, but when she took her sunnies off, I knew it was Schapelle,” says an Aussie holidaymaker who was staying at the same resort on My Khe Beach, near Da Nang, with her husband.